Synthesis of Public-Private Partnerships: Potential Issues and Best Practices for Program and Project Implementation and Administration

Public-private partnerships (P3s or PPPs) offer an innovative procurement method for the public sector. P3s involve collaborations between the public and private sectors to finance, develop or maintain transportation infrastructure. In an era of shrinking budgets and increased demand for transportation infrastructure, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) can analyze experiences in other states to determine a best path forward on the issue of P3s. The objective of this study is to examine benefits and drawbacks of using P3s, current trends and past performance of P3s in the procurement of state transportation infrastructure projects, and common legislative statutes relating to P3s. The team reviewed literature that broadly related to privatization. Then they defined P3s according to the parameters laid out by the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA). This report contains: 1) guidance and best practices that can be used to help ensure successful P3 implementation, 2) case studies that describe P3 experiences and lessons learned, 3) a list of factors that policymakers should consider as they deliberate on whether a P3 is the best procurement option for specific projects. The research conclusively demonstrated that P3s have become more widely used for transportation infrastructure projects in the United States in recent years. Policymakers must thoughtfully weigh risks and benefits before approving P3 agreements. If Kentucky moves ahead with a transportation P3 program, future research would be geared toward studying the performance of projects and toward gathering lessons learned

Optical investigation of thermoelectric topological crystalline insulator Pb0.77_{0.77}Sn0.23_{0.23}Se

Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se is a novel alloy of two promising thermoelectric materials PbSe and SnSe that exhibits a temperature dependent band inversion below 300 K. Recent work has shown that this band inversion also coincides with a trivial to nontrivial topological phase transition. To understand how the properties critical to thermoelectric efficiency are affected by the band inversion, we measured the broadband optical response of Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se as a function of temperature. We find clear optical evidence of the band inversion at $160\pm15$ K, and use the extended Drude model to accurately determine a $T^{3/2}$ dependence of the bulk carrier lifetime, associated with electron-acoustic phonon scattering. Due to the high bulk carrier doping level, no discriminating signatures of the topological surface states are found, although their presence cannot be excluded from our data.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Keck Planet Finder: preliminary design

The Keck Planet Finder (KPF) is a fiber-fed, high-resolution, high-stability spectrometer in development for the W.M. Keck Observatory. The instrument recently passed its preliminary design review and is currently in the detailed design phase. KPF is designed to characterize exoplanets using Doppler spectroscopy with a single measurement precision of 0.5 m s^(−1) or better; however, its resolution and stability will enable a wide variety of other astrophysical pursuits. KPF will have a 200 mm collimated beam diameter and a resolving power greater than 80,000. The design includes a green channel (445 nm to 600 nm) and red channel (600 nm to 870 nm). A novel design aspect of KPF is the use of a Zerodur optical bench, and Zerodur optics with integral mounts, to provide stability against thermal expansion and contraction effects

Wind Analysis in Relation to the Development of Wind Power

Electrical Engineerin

The Basic Communication Course at U.S. Colleges and Universities: VI

This is the sixth in a series of investigations of the basic communication course, begun in 1968 by members of the Undergraduate Speech Instruction Interest Group of the Speech Association of America. This study was replicated in 1974, 1980, 1985, and 1990. Each of these studies gathered and reported information on instructional practices and administrative issues in the basic course at two- and four-year colleges and universities. In this study, the survey instrument from 1990 was revised to reflect contemporary concerns and mailed to the National Communication Association mailing list of 1500 schools. Data were analyzed and presented from 292 responding schools covering institutional demographics and (1) general approach and orientation to the basic course, (2) pedagogy (which subsumes seven sub-categories), (3) enrollment description and dynamics, and (4) administrative concerns. Comparisons to past and studies indicate the basic communication course is thriving and growing, but some of the same problems continue today that beset the course in the past

On the Convergence of the Born Series in Optical Tomography with Diffuse Light

We provide a simple sufficient condition for convergence of Born series in the forward problem of optical diffusion tomography. The condition does not depend on the shape or spatial extent of the inhomogeneity but only on its amplitude.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Inverse Problem

Interaction of detergents and disinfectants upon surface adhered populations of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

The primary aim of this investigation was to identify and assess the interactions (synergies and antagonisms) that exist between 20 minute detergent and 5 minute disinfectant treatments upon three factory isolated strains of surface adhered (1-hour attached) and surface adapted (24-hour biofilm) populations of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes, plus a comparison with vero-toxin producing strains of E. coli, when used as part of a cleaning and disinfection regime. The detergents chosen for assessment were two non-ionic (91/4 - Alcohol Ethoxylate and KCL5 - Polyethoxylated Alcohol), two anionic (LX28 - Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Nec28 - Sodium Laurylether Sulphate) and two novel bismuth thiols (BisEDT - 1:1 Bismuth nitrate 1,2-ethanedithiol and BisTOL - 2:1 Bismuth nitrate 3,4-dimercaptotoluene), developed at Winthrop University Hospital, New York. The disinfectants chosen for assessment were a quaternary ammonium compound (BAC - Benzyl alkonium Chloride) and a chlorine releasing agent (NaDCC - Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate). The investigation showed that there were no specific cleaning and disinfection regimes that will adequately target both E. coli and L. monocytogenes strains. It was also concluded that to maximise the removal and disinfection of persistent strains of a given microorganism, it may be necessary to design a regime to specifically target not just the species, but the strain involved and where possible requires mechanical cleaning. The novel bismuth thiols were seen to be promising detergents to aid in the removal of E. coli strains and warrant further attention for future studies. Finally, an investigation to identify possible mechanisms of resistance to disinfectant treatments following detergent treatment, showed that different detergents can induce expression of the stress response proteins, HSP60 and HSP70, at differing levels of expression after the same contact time and against different states of adherent populations, i.e. 1-hour attached or 24-hour biofilm populations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Keck Planet Finder: preliminary design

The Keck Planet Finder (KPF) is a fiber-fed, high-resolution, high-stability spectrometer in development for the W.M. Keck Observatory. The instrument recently passed its preliminary design review and is currently in the detailed design phase. KPF is designed to characterize exoplanets using Doppler spectroscopy with a single measurement precision of 0.5 m s^(−1) or better; however, its resolution and stability will enable a wide variety of other astrophysical pursuits. KPF will have a 200 mm collimated beam diameter and a resolving power greater than 80,000. The design includes a green channel (445 nm to 600 nm) and red channel (600 nm to 870 nm). A novel design aspect of KPF is the use of a Zerodur optical bench, and Zerodur optics with integral mounts, to provide stability against thermal expansion and contraction effects

An optical fiber double scrambler and mechanical agitator system for the Keck planet finder spectrograph

We present the design and test results of a double-scrambler and fiber agitator system for the Keck Planet Finder (KPF) spectrograph. The mechanical agitator for modal noise suppression is constructed from two linear stages with the fibers mounted in a “W” curve. When driven back-and-forth at different rates, the stages change the position of the fiber curves, and hence vary the modes propagating through the fiber. Near-field temporal centroid shifts caused by modal-noise are reduced by a factor of 100 by the agitator, while mid-range spatial frequencies have reduced power by a factor of ∼300 in the near-field, and ∼1000 in the far-field. The scrambling system incorporates two octagonal fibers, and a scrambler consisting of two identical cemented lenses ∼20 cm apart, which exchanges the optical near- and far-fields of the fibers. The scrambler shows scrambling gains >16,000 in the near-field, and >40,000 in the far-field. The measured throughput efficiency of 99.3% of the expected maximum demonstrates that scrambler-induced focal ratio degradation (FRD) is minimal. The scrambler also serves as the feed-through into the vacuum chamber where the spectrograph is housed, thereby removing concerns about stressing the fibers, and introducing FRD, at this interface. Our illumination stabilization system, consisting of two octagonal fibers, a two lens scrambler, and a mechanical agitator, produces very homogeneous fiber output in both the near and far-fields. When coupled to the Keck Planet Finder spectrograph, this system provides illumination stability corresponding to a velocity of 0.30 m s^(−1)